Our Coaches

Coach Scott Verstraete

Alleman Head Coach

​

The first memory “Coach V” has from basketball takes him back to the time he was bouncing a ball in Don Morris gym watching his father coach his brother. Coach is the son of longtime high school coach Whitey Verstraete. “Both my dad and my brother (Jeff, Alleman graduate) were my heroes as I grew up,” recalls Verstraete.

Coach grew up following his dad’s tenures as the Head Coach at Rock Island and Moline. He attended Sacred Heart (Seton), Washington Jr. High School (Rock Island), and Moline High School. Coach says, “I have lifelong friends from all of these communities. As the Head Coach I look forward to working with the Alleman community that I have always felt a part of and respect so much.” At Moline, Coach was a member of an Elite 8 finish basketball team. He was also a Western Big 6 all conference baseball player; a career he continued at the collegiate level.

Coach cites his first coaching experience as a volunteer coach at Seton. He recognizes the developmental stages of young players as he has coached at all levels grades 3-12. He has coached at the high school level as the head coach at Orion, as a long time assistant at Moline, and for a year at Alleman under Larry Schulte. Coach also learned the value of multi-sport athletes as the Head Coach and athletic director at Orion. He reports, “some of the best experiences I ever had was being a two-sport athlete. Opportunity for multi-sport athletes is another reason I was drawn to the Alleman job”

He and his wife, Melanie, have two children - Lindsey and Meaghan (Alleman graduate). His wife Melanie enjoyed teaching at Seton and Alleman. Coach knows the value of the Alleman Catholic education. In his opinion, no education prepares you better for college and life than the catholic education Alleman can provide. “Be open to exploring Alleman and tuition assistance offerings,” says coach. “Colleges make it very clear that they respect Alleman students. This great educational system is based on our Catholic faith. We are prepared not only for further education and careers, but also for the experience of life.”

Coach reports excitement working with the Future Pioneers program. “This is a great, well-run, program with enthusiastic volunteers that can produce great players,” says Verstraete. “Alleman has had some of the greatest players in WB6 history. Names like Cornelis, Snyder, Widdell, Tometich, Sottos, Voss, Trapkus, Knuckey, and Wolfe sprinkle our history. But we don’t live in the past. It’s time for us to recognize that young players today work as hard as anyone ever has and are as good of athletes as there has ever been. I believe in the greatest of today’s athletes. The game has changed-- more physical and intense. We must provide a program to help our young people to be successful in this new game.”

Coach V invites young people to become a part of the Future Pioneers program. “Join the Future Pioneers program and become a part of PIONEERS BASKETBALL. Add your name to that storied list of names in Alleman history. Write your own history.”